On the Topic of Escape
by Rose Ingram
Summary: When life is terrible, would you run away? Let's see how Strong Sad reacts when he's given the chance to disappear from Free Country...


A/N: So, um, I just wrote this. Like, all of it today. It was fast, but really not edited. If there's anything that needs to be changed, worked on, or just plain sucks, please do tell. I got this idea a day or so ago, when I was nightdreaming (sort of like daydreaming, but it's at night). Oh, I'm also a HUGE supporter of the MarziSad couple, so that's worked in here a bit. But not that much. Oh, no. That will come soon... Just wait... *evil laughter* On another note, I self inserted myself. Due to needing a strange force from another world. But heck, really anything could work. Faeries, possessed kittens, leprechauns with huge noses... throw in your own self, if ya want. That was just a warning. ^_^

The hour was near.

A sense of dread and hopelessness suddenly overcame Strong Sad, cloaking him in a wave of sadness. He tapped his calligraphy pen softly against the desk, aimlessly staring at the wall and sighing. The clock grinned 3:56 pm. Almost time.

He sighed and leaned back, attempting to savor his last minutes before his brothers would enter his hallowed halls. Well, his room, anyway. He never owned any halls.

Turning off his radio he sat back. Silence. Strong Bad and Strong Mad were still out. The Cheat was home, for some reason or another, but he was the quietest of the three. So the house was quiet.

"Hey." Strong Sad bolted up, looking around for the source of the sound. It sounded slightly… feminine? But it wasn't Marzipan's voice. He gasped. No. A female in the House of Strong? Talking to _him_?!? How propos-

"Hey! You down there! Look up!" Strong Sad did so, then recoiled.

A tiny purple dragon fluttered near his ceiling. A pair of light brown glasses perched on its snout, obscuring the bright green eyes behind them. The dragon couldn't have been bigger than a duck, but it seemed to embody a much bigger personality. Its tiny arms were folded across its chest.

Strong Sad blinked awkwardly. "Um… dragons don't exist."

That statement was greeted with a facepalm. "Well, apparently they do now." The dragon swooped down in front of his face, arms still crossed. "Strong Sad, correct?"

He nodded, still slightly confused about what was happening. "Why are you here?"

"I have a question for you. Just say yes or no." The dragon looked sternly at him. "Would you like to leave?"

The question hardly changed Strong Sad's expression. "What do you mean? Leave this house, or…?"

The dragon sighed. "Leave this town. This area. Leave this world behind and travel to a new one."

The thought surprised Strong Sad. Well, an opportunity like this had never been presented to him before, either. "This instant?"

The dragon nodded. "But you must make your decision now."

"But…" Strong Sad thought, puzzled. "I'll have to pack. I need some things with me." He looked at the dragon hopefully. "Could you return again?"

The dragon sighed slowly. "Tomorrow, same time." She fluttered upwards again, looking worriedly at him. "Good luck."

Strong Sad was confused until his door burst open. Strong Bad grinned. "Sorry that we're late, loser." Strong Mad pounded his fist into an open palm.

Strong Sad glanced up at the ceiling. The purple dragon was gone.

4:02 pm.

The bags sat in the corner. He had gathered them from all over the house, then shoved them full of his belongings- sketches, books filled with poetry, paper, and whatever money he had saved up. His entire life, packed up.

Strong Sad himself paced the room, waiting. His eyes flickered to the clock. 3:55 pm. He continued pacing, thoughts fluttering from one thing to another, each step in time with the ticking of the clock.

"Wow, you really need that much?"  
He tripped, falling over. The dragon fluttered down, smiling. "Need help?"

He blinked and stood back up, shaking his head. "So, I'm packed."  
The dragon nodded. "I can see that. So tell me, Strong Sad," she flew to his bed, lounging on it, "would you like to leave?"

Since the question was asked yesterday, one would think it would not have had much impact on his expression. The response was quite the contrary. The same emotions of confusion and resistance sprang up on his face. "Well, would I be able to come back at all? I mean, there's some really good writing places around here. The woods, that cliff… even this room." He looked at his luggage, sitting in the corner. "So, could I come back?"  
The dragon frowned, sitting up. "Look, kid. This is a one way trip. Do you want to leave or not?"

Strong Sad sighed deeply. "Could you… maybe… come back again tomorrow? So I could say goodbye?"

The dragon rolled its eyes, then stood up. "Fine. See you tomorrow." She glanced at the door. "Have fun."

The door slammed open. Strong Bad casually strode in, looking confused at the luggage. Strong Mad followed after, carrying the Cheat. "Planning on going somewhere, dumpus?"

Strong Sad looked back at the bed again. Gone again.

4:01pm.

"Ready to go _now_?"

The dragon was sitting on Strong Sad's head today. It spun a finger lightly against his forehead, creating imaginary lines. He had visited the places that day, savoring for possibly the last time the places he had lived around practically all his life. He looked out the window at the seemingly endless fields.

"I ran into Marzipan today."

The dragon raised the scales above its left eye, looking down at the top of Strong Sad's head. It softly whistled.

"Hey, quit it." He glanced up angrily, then pulled over a chair to sit in front of the window. "Are you sure I can't come back? I mean… there were some people who were here for me… I can't just leave them without explanation."

The dragon jumped off his head and onto the sill, staring him in the eyes. "So you're saying you don't want to leave?" It put its tiny clawed paws on its hips, snorting.

Strong Sad almost shook his head, then caught himself. Did he? He continued silently staring out the window. What had begun as a happy occasion to be gone from this hellhole forever was beginning to backfire.

"Give me one more day. I promise. I'll make up my mind tomorrow." He looked down at the dragon, who looked a bit more than slightly annoyed. "Please."

The dragon put a paw to its forehead, exhaling. "Fiiiiine." She hopped off of the sill moving towards the door. She rested a paw on it, then looked back with a sad smile. "Try not to kill yourself."

The door burst open. Strong Bad leaped onto his bed. Strong Mad stomped in, slamming the door behind him.

Strong Sad looked dully at the door. Yeah, the little purple scale ball was gone. He turned his attention to the clock.

4:00pm.

Three notes stacked on the desk. Each had a sketch attached, stapled in the corner. Beautifully drawn, details in every inch and proportions correct.

Strong Sad shuffled through them, making sure everything was in order. He was going to deliver them to each person's residence, but hit a few snags. First, he didn't know where Homsar lived. Second, Marzipan might read hers before he actually left. Third, his thinking got in the way.

He stared at the one for Marzipan. Though she wasn't crazy about him, she was one of the few sane people who tolerated him. Well, sane was hardly a term to describe anyone in Free Country, but anyone was more sane than his other 'friend', Homsar.

Strong Sad switched to Homsar's note. He probably would eat the note or tape it to his head, let alone read and understand it, but he felt obliged to leave _something_. Who knows what would happen to him after he was gone? Fill the gap Strong Sad had left?

Something touched his shoulder, causing him to straighten up in shock. "Boo." The little dragon giggled and flew around to the petrified Strong Sad, who had begun to relax. "So. Last chance." He averted his eyes away, back down to the notes. "Come on, you said so yourself."

Strong Sad flipped to the last note he had written the night before. It was the longest, but contained no pictures. "What about my family?"

This took the dragon aback. "Wh-what do you mean? I mean, what do you mean, 'What about them'?"

Strong Sad's eyes flickered over the words he had written. _To my brothers (and the Cheat)_. "I know… but…" _I know you all hate me, which is why I will disappear for your sake. You'll probably celebrate my departure, but I just want you to know one thing._

"They're my family. They're all I've got."

_We're family. No matter how many times you pummeled me, I forgive you._

The dragon stared at him in disbelief. "…Your answer is?"

Strong Sad stood up and looked at the dragon, intensity glowing in his eyes. "No. I will stay here, even if it makes me miserable."

The dragon rolled her eyes at the drama, but smiled. "Glad you understand. Goodbye, Strong Sad."

He smiled, turning back to the letters he had written. He tossed the two that were addressed to Marzipan and Homsar, keeping the sketches, but placed the third in front of him. Pulling out his calligraphy pen, he began to edit his letter.

After all, leaving for a few days was more manageable than forever.


End file.
